Scope:

The committee is concerned with research that will lead to better planning and implementation of intercity passenger rail, with particular emphasis on the full range of high-speed systems including new technology. This research will include demand analysis, financial considerations economic impacts (including consideration of user and social benefits), and institutional arrangements including public-private partnerships. The research should also address impacts on other rail operations, coordination with other modes, rail-highway interfaces, corridor versus system concerns, technology assessment, environmental impacts, and implementation strategies.

1. To facilitate ongoing research into the financial, managerial, organizational, and policy dynamics of intercity passenger rail operations, both in the Americas as well as Europe and Asia.
2. To communicate and disseminate the insight from research findings that identifies the challenges faced by passenger rail carriers and highlights future opportunities.
3. To identify gaps in the knowledge needed to both measure current system performance and to enhance intercity passenger rail performance and encourage research that can fill these gaps.
4. To assess the skills and competencies needed for measuring and managing intercity passenger rail’s future development and consider how these can be best developed into the next generation of transportation professionals.
5. To demonstrate the value that effective intercity passenger rail operations can offer to an intermodal transportation system, and to society as a whole.